The Tech Jobs Sector Grows Stronger

thumbnail The Tech Jobs Sector Grows Stronger

The U.S. information technology (IT) sector added about 8,400 core IT jobs in June, according to CompTIA’s analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment report. The CompTIA IT Employment Tracker shows that four out of five employment categories in the IT sector experienced job growth. In the first half of 2017, IT sector employment […]

Written By: Gina Roos
Sep 5, 2017
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The U.S. information technology (IT) sector added about 8,400 core IT jobs in June, according to CompTIA’s analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment report. The CompTIA IT Employment Tracker shows that four out of five employment categories in the IT sector experienced job growth.

In the first half of 2017, IT sector employment grew by an estimated 61,900 jobs. The job gains in June exceeded several industries, including manufacturing, retail and transportation, although it trailed in industries such as construction, healthcare, and accommodation and food services.

Which tech roles were most in demand? The top five IT occupation job postings were for software developer and applications, computer systems engineer and architect, computer system analyst, computer user support specialist and web developer.

In terms of actual job additions, positions in IT and software services and computer system design posted the biggest gains, growing by 4,900 jobs in June. Other growth segments include service portal (+ 2,300), computer and electronic products manufacturing (+ 1,000), and data processing, hosting and related services (+ 900).

Service providers saw a bump in job expansion, which indicates demand for a wide range of skill sets. Employment in IT services and custom software grew by an estimated 99,000 jobs in the first half of the year.

The only category that posted a decrease was telecommunications, which was down by 700 jobs in June and about 43,800 jobs during the first half of the year.

Tim Herbert, CompTIA’s senior vice president, research and market intelligence, said that “it’s not uncommon for companies to be in hiring mode, while also shedding workers,” as tech companies shift resources from legacy products to new technology opportunities in the cloud, internet of things, artificial intelligence and big data.

This supports CompTIA’s analysis of the industry’s shift to a more consultative and services-based market. The industry organization expects more channel companies to develop their own intellectual property, such as custom software or business processes that can be replicated across their customer base, which will drive employment in IT services and software.

About 44 percent of positions in the IT sector are tech jobs. The remaining 56 percent include occupations such as sales, marketing, finance, HR, research & development and other related positions. This second component of the IT workforce grew by 117,000 jobs in June, which offset the 107,000 positions lost in May.

For the year, net IT occupation jobs “remain in negative territory,” according to CompTIA.

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